As is the fashion, this novel has chronologically separate narrative streams told in alternating chapters. In this case, the author has varied the pattern slightly by having none of the streams in the first person, and by giving separate chapters to two main characters who are in the same time period and whose stories intersect (Ann and Miriam, 1947, post-war Britain, the embroidering of the wedding gown for Princess Elizabeth). The third character, Heather, is Toronto-based in 2016; in other words, she is the author's surrogate in discovering the story of the other two women, one of whom is Heather's grandmother.

 

The book is clearly written and well-edited. The three women are well-distinguished, and the traumatic events in the lives of the two wartime ones are handled with sensitivity. Neither Miriam's concentration camp experiences (she is the sole survivor in her French Jewish family) nor Ann's victimization near the end of the book - I will not specify further, since it's a major plot point - are so horrible as to outweigh the pleasure in historical detail that Robson brings to her work.

 

I'm not particularly an embroidery fan, but I did appreciate the descriptions of the embroidery work (it's also nice, for us and for the author, that pictures of the gown are widely available). The joy of making is really the thing that brings the very unlike Ann and Miriam together in their completely undramatic friendship.

 

There are men in this novel, but they are experienced only as they affect the principal women, and we form our own opinion of them based on that. While the relationships drive the plot, Miriam's very happy one a useful contrast to Ann's unhappy one, the romances were not a primary interest for me. I was much more engaged by the depiction of the difficulties of life in rationed, post-war Britain (even the future queen had to use her clothing coupons to buy her elaborate dress), and the philosophical way the women dealt with the contrast between their own lives and the extreme luxury and showiness of the royal garment they were making.

 

Decent historical fiction - I would read more from this Canadian author.

 

 

 

From my physical non-fiction shelf -  Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. Gelles and Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and his Nation by Susan Williams.

 

From my science reading list - The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman and Rise of the Rocket Girls by Natalia Holt. 

 

From my Nixon reading list - 1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky.

 

From my Winter COYER reading list - Radio Girls by Sarah Jane Stratford, Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson, and Master of Love by Catherine LaRoche.

 

From my physical fiction shelf - The Trouble with Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson.

 

Library pick - Maisie Dobbs by Jaqueline Winspear.

 

Finally, I am doing an experiment. Every Friday, I am going to read a short book from either my NOOK or Kindle. I am using Random Number Generator to pick from a list. I will announce these picks on my Friday reads. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sign up at http://coyerchallenge.com/2018/11/01/coyer-winter-is-here-going-back-to-basics-again/.

 

Considering I only buy ebooks on sale, the restrictions this go around seems really easy. There are only a few books I have on my 2019 reading that don't fit the restrictions. My problem will be library borrows, as the winter editions don't allow library reading to count. 

 

My COYER TBR is just 15 books, which will allow for non-challenge reading.

 

1. You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson (memoir)

2. Cheer Up Love by Susan Calman  (memoir)

3. Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt (women's history)

4. Radium Girls by Kate Moore (women's history)

5. Mary and Lou and Ted and Rhoda by Jennifer Armstrong (pop culture)

6. The Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin (historical romance)

7. A Dance with Danger by Jeannie Lin (historical romance)

8. North to You by Tif Marcelo (contemporary romance)

9. Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford (historical fiction)

10. Sweet Disorder by Rose Lerner (historical romance)

11. Deliver Me by Farrah Rochon (contemporary romance)

12. Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson (historical fiction)

13. Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan (historical fiction)

14. Star Dust by Emma Barry and Genevieve Turner (historical romance)

15. London Belles by Annie Groves (women's fiction)

I just finished an ARC of After the War is Over, a work very much in the vein of Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series. For me, this book ranks somewhere between three and four stars.

WHAT I LIKE: I like the characters, and the storyline is comfortable. Some characters are well developed. I am thankful Ms. Robson doesn't go into intricate detail about clothing. I appreciate the sub-theme of the suffragette movement. I enjoyed some of the dialogue, particularly between Lilly and Charlotte. The scene in the cottage between Charlotte and Edward is tastefully written.

WHAT WAS MISSING FOR ME: The chapters bounce back and forth in time too often, and I believe that the story could have been restructured to be more cohesive and linear. The prose and dialogue don't contain subtle, embedded markers to distinguish these timing changes. Some of the characters are so thinly developed that they were extraneous to my reading of the book. The first half of the book is a little unfocused, with too many themes; I wasn't quite sure where the author was taking me until the last half.

I read Somewhere in France, and After the War is Over is an enjoyable read to continue the series.